I would give the legs *some* attention. I wouldn;t go in and bust on squats or anything, but some basic stuff. I used to do calf raises constantly. Now when I stand at the gas station I do calf raises and (try not to laugh at me here) when I rinse with mouth wash at night I do them too. If I am standing around waiting on something or someone and no one is around I will bust a few in too.

When I worked in an office a year ago I had to take an elevator up to the office. I always tried to see how many calf raises I could do before I reached the right floor. I usually got around 50-60. And that was at 7:00 a.m. in the morning. Nothing like a good burn to wake your a$$ up in the morning, who needs coffee?

I am sure overall it cannot hurt. I have had several people tell me I am the fastest person they have ever played. I do not feel like I run that fast, but I can get up to full speed very quickly and i think that helps. I am sure the calf raises help in that department.

If you're already fast, then do long distant running. You'll notice the different when your opponent wilt at the end of 3rd set and you're boucing around like an Energizer Bunny. I think part of being fast is a genetic thing. When I was in HS, too long ago, I can consistantly do the mile under 5 minutes. My fastest time was 4 mins and 30 seconds. I'm still fast, but my stamina isn't what it used to be, so I do long distant running. You can do footworks to be faster, but you'll never beat a natural sprinter.

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I've been a tennis bum for half my life.I'll just be a bum for the other half.

I would give the legs *some* attention. I wouldn;t go in and bust on squats or anything, but some basic stuff. I used to do calf raises constantly. Now when I stand at the gas station I do calf raises and (try not to laugh at me here) when I rinse with mouth wash at night I do them too. If I am standing around waiting on something or someone and no one is around I will bust a few in too.

When I worked in an office a year ago I had to take an elevator up to the office. I always tried to see how many calf raises I could do before I reached the right floor. I usually got around 50-60. And that was at 7:00 a.m. in the morning. Nothing like a good burn to wake your a$$ up in the morning, who needs coffee?

I am sure overall it cannot hurt. I have had several people tell me I am the fastest person they have ever played. I do not feel like I run that fast, but I can get up to full speed very quickly and i think that helps. I am sure the calf raises help in that department.

Anonymous

Sorry dude it's all genetics. You ever notice how certain ethnic groups perform so well in certain types of sport. The Kenyans and long distance running, people have tried to figure out what makes them so good. They've studied them and trained with them and couldnt figure it out. It's in there blood. Sure you can make yourself fasterbut it wo't be a great improvement unless it's in your genes.

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MC ill Guest

Yeah, a lot of stuff is genetics, but don't resign yourself to nature, dude. You may not have been born with a high amount of fast twitch quad muscles, but there are definitely ways to increase your quickness. There's isometric exercises you can do... special shoes that strengthen calf muscles... parachutes you can strap to your body... etc. Yeah, the parachute sounds silly but if you think about it, it's a pretty sound idea. Running with resistance.

All genetics means is that you may never be as fast as Michael Chang was, but that doesn't mean you personally can't become 10 to 15% quicker. Of course, if nothing else, vary the speed while you run. Jog at 75% for 10 minutes, than run fast for 3 minutes, then job again, then spring at 100%, etc. Also, run uphill or up stairs.

Good luck. I'm waging my own personal war against genetics.

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MC ill Guest

Oh, one more thing. Obviously, getting down to as low a body fat percentage as possible will make you quicker.

Also, do leg presses and squats, but not too much weight. Stack on a good amount (like 75% of your 1 rep max amount -- so if you can do one rep of squat with 150 lbs, then use about 112 lbs...) and do very controlled, explosive reps, like 8 to 12 reps a set.

There was an article in Tennis magazine last year about getting faster. They said to run up stairs 3 days a week, and to sprint downhill 3 days a week. That is IN ADDITION to the tennis and whatever else you normally do. I followed this advice to prepare for a track meet that I was in last year. I was 49, competing against others that were in the 45-49 age bracket. I came in first in the 100 meter dash, and broke the meet record.

In addition to gaining speed (above), to get quicker on the tennis court be sure you split-step as your opponent is hitting the ball so you can react more quickly to his shot, and learn to anticipate where he's likely to hit ball. These skills will help you get to the ball faster.

Hey guys - one of my sons played hockey and when he realized he wasn't as fast as some of his teammates he went to the local sports shop and bought some weights and attached them to his skates. He always wore them in practices in scrimmages. He would take them off during his regular games and he absolutely flew around the ice.

I tried ankle weights when I was getting ready for long charity walks. It was amazing how fast I could walk without the ankle weights the days of the walks. You just feel so light, free and fast!

Genetics does play a role but as another fellow poster said it would only mean you will never be as fast as Chang or never break 10 secs in the 100 meter dash. You can always improve on your personal best. I won't give you to much technical advice because I dont need to work on my speed as much as other parts of my game. I do know that it's important to have a strong core because it provides balance and stabilization. Plyometrics are also important so that you can build up your fast twitch muscles. Everyone gave some really good advice. Good luck

MC ill Guest

In addition to gaining speed (above), to get quicker on the tennis court be sure you split-step as your opponent is hitting the ball so you can react more quickly to his shot, and learn to anticipate where he's likely to hit ball. These skills will help you get to the ball faster.

This is a great point. My teammates always commented on how I was always just in the right place. I never gave it much thought but I increased my effective quickness by...

1. I can react and run quicker to my right for some reason so I would camp out on the left side of the court for the most part...

BUT!

2. At most levels, people are much better at hitting cross court than down the line. So if he's about to hit a forehand, I'm inching a bit to my right, and if he's about to hit a backhand, I inch a bit to my left. Even at the pro level you can see that changing the direction of the shot and hitting up the line is difficult. Roddick can't do it worth crap off the backhand and he was number 1 in the world. So even before they hit the ball get a head start and wait for the cross court shot.

ankle weights is the way to go. play a 3 setter with 5 l bs on each leg, and it will hurt like a mofo. on the other hand, its a good hurt, cause you are working hard and getting faster. but back to the first hand, it deos hurt like hell.

The also have these weighted vests you can wear. You can adjust the weight by adding or removing weight from the vest. I'm not sure which -- ankle weight or vest weights -- are safer but it would seem that the vest might work all the leg muscles in a more appropriate weight than if you have extra weight only on the ankles.

Skipping rope is also excellent. Come to think of it, if you only have 10 or 15 minutes a day to dedicate to foot speed and cardio, there's probably no better exercise.